Mark Teixeira Rumors: Tuesday
12:07am: Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald does not believe the Red Sox will go beyond eight years for Teixeira.
10:32am: WEEI has a transcript of comments from Karl Ravech of ESPN regarding Tex. Ravech believes "a decision is getting closer and closer to being made." He says teams are escalating their offers and Teixeira should land in the $22-28MM salary range. You can also hear Ravech’s comments in a video at ESPN.com (upper right corner).
8:24am: According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, the Red Sox made an offer to Mark Teixeira. Silverman believes it to be for eight years. Tex is believed to be seeking more than $21MM per year, closer to Alex Rodriguez‘s $27.5MM per year.
The Angels are reportedly at eight years and at least $160MM, the Orioles around seven years, $140-150MM, and the Nationals at eight years, $160MM.
Derek Lowe Rumors: Tuesday
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has the latest on the market for free agent starter Derek Lowe. Heyman says "some baseball people think" the Cubs might get in on Lowe, since his price tag may be similar to the four years and $63MM left on Jake Peavy‘s contract.
Heyman believes the Yankees will resume discussions with Lowe if they fail to sign Andy Pettitte. However, he says they expect Pettitte to accept their $10MM offer.
Heyman indicates the Braves, Red Sox, Mets and Angels are also on Lowe’s radar.
Odds and Ends: Cabrera, Tejada, Teixeira
A few random notes from around the MLBiverse…
- The Cardinals signed infielder Joe Thurston and catcher Justin Knoedler to minor league deals with spring training invites. Thurston appeared in four games for the Red Sox in ’08, while Knoedler last appeared in the majors with the Giants in ’06.
- Jordan Bastian says the Blue Jays are not one of the teams that have offered a contract to Daniel Cabrera. The Jays are interested, but want to see Cabrera pitch in the Dominican Winter League before making an offer…Cabrera’s agent says eleven teams have shown interest and Cabrera has received two contract offers.
- Jon Heyman is reporting that the FBI is still investigating Miguel Tejada, which will hinder any attempts to trade the shortstop…We previously heard that the Astros were trying hard to move Tejada but had yet to find any suitors.
- Mike Bauman believes the Red Sox offer to Mark Teixeira could be a direct reaction to the recent signings of C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett by the Yankees. Bauman says the Red Sox "cannot sit idly by and watch the Yanks make dramatic, if incredibly expensive, improvements."
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Tuesday
SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Yankees aren’t optimistic about signing Mark Teixeira, and "seem ready to pounce for Manny Ramirez." He says the Yankees "love the idea of Manny."
Heyman notes that Teixeira signing with the Red Sox would be ideal for Manny and Scott Boras, since Boston is not a possibility for Ramirez. The Angels might have heightened interest in Manny if they are unable to sign Tex.
Multiple Offers For Kawakami?
Patrick at NPB Tracker writes that Kenshin Kawakami‘s agent says he’s received official offers from "more than one team."
It’s not known which teams offered contracts, but the Braves are interested and Patrick lists the Orioles, Red Sox, Angels, Giants, and Brewers as other possible suitors.
Here’s the link to the Hochi Sports article in Japanese.
Mark Teixeira Rumors: Monday
Some Mark Teixeira nuggets have surfaced around the web…
- The Angels “appear to have abandoned their usual quick-deadline strategy” according to Jon Heyman. They’ve been known to offer contracts with deadlines, but this year they’re making an exception.
- Ken Rosenthal writes that the Angels could be “bracing for the loss” of Teixeira to another club.
- Still, the Red Sox still consider the Angels “a more serious competitor” than the Orioles or Nationals according to New York Times writer Jack Curry.
- Red Sox GM Theo Epstein didn’t deny that the his team is a “super power financially,” but he told Curry that Boston spends “99%” of its resources on scouting and development. With good reason, Curry suggests that they might be spending more than 1% of their energy on signing Tex.
Odds and Ends: Teixeira, Hunsicker, Burrell
Links for Monday…
- According to the Newberg Report mailing list and CBSSports.com, the Rangers re-signed pitcher Doug Mathis to a minor league deal.
- Joe Nelson‘s been popular since being non-tendered – he’s heard from "at least 12-14 teams." Ruben Amaro Jr. said today the Phillies inquired on "20 or so" non-tendered players.
- Adam Everett‘s deal with the Tigers is official – $1MM plus incentives.
- MLB.com’s Barry Bloom spoke to Padres owner John Moores.
- Richard Justice doesn’t think Drayton McLane would ask Ed Wade to trade Roy Oswalt, but he could see Oswalt requesting a trade.
- Dave Sheinin says nothing has happened with Mark Teixeira since the Winter Meetings ended, and it’s no coincidence that we haven’t heard much about offers from the Red Sox or Yankees. Michael Silverman says Boston’s eventual offer to Tex will easily be a record for this ownership group. He guesses eight years in the $145-175MM range, noting that the Red Sox do not like to have players signed beyond age 36.
- Buster Olney says the Orioles and Nationals bidding on Tex is "nothing less than lunacy."
- Gerry Hunsicker has signed an extension to stay with the Rays.
- RotoAuthority takes a look at Jonathan Sanchez.
- George King says Kenny Lofton attempted to dissuade C.C. Sabathia from signing with the Yankees.
- Ken Davidoff says it seems that the Yankees will avoid Scott Boras this offseason.
- Steve Serby did a Q&A with Omar Minaya, learning details of Minaya’s Winter Meetings dealings.
- Pat Burrell says he never received a formal offer from the Phillies. His replacement, Raul Ibanez, will receive three years and $31.5MM.
Red Sox-Teixeira Rumor
2:34pm: A reader who heard the show says Patrick was only speaking in the hypothetical with the $200MM figure, so Bloom’s post was apparently inaccurate. This is why I typically avoid radio reports unless I hear them myself…sorry about that. In listening to the Reggie Miller interview on Patrick’s site he was definitely only giving an opinion during that portion.
2:16pm: Take it with a grain of salt, but we have a report of a report that the Red Sox offered Mark Teixeira an eight-year, $200MM deal. Earl Bloom of the Orange County Register heard Dan Patrick say it on his radio show. It’d be best to treat the report with skepticism until it’s confirmed by another source.
Joe Nelson Exploring Options
The Marlins did not tender right-handed reliever Joe Nelson a contract on Friday; however, they have not shut the door on the reliever say Joe Frisaro of mlb.com.
"Nelson’s agent, Doug Schaer, fielded a few inquiries on Saturday regarding the 34-year-old right-hander, who is now a free agent. Working within a tight budget, Florida was offering about $650,000 for Nelson, who might be able to top $800,000 on the open market. Nelson was a valuable setup man last year, posting a 3-1 record with a 2.00 ERA in 59 games. He also has experience closing."
Despite Nelson being the only player non-tendered by the Marlins, there do not appear to be any hard feelings; however, he shouldn’t have much trouble finding a bump in pay from a team with higher payroll. Frisaro lists Kansas City and Boston as potential suitors. Nelson is 34 and lives in the West Palm Beach area.
Juan Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel says Nelson is taking a calculated risk. Both articles note Florida would welcome back Nelson’s veteran presence if he were unable to find what he’s looking for on the open market.
Japanese Free Agent Round-Up: Kawakami, Takahashi, Saito
Patrick at NPB Tracker has an interesting update on some notable Japanese free agents.
- If the Braves are in fact interested in Kenshin Kawakami, they may have to beat an eventual three-year, $21MM offer from the Red Sox.
- Omar Minaya thinks Koji Uehara projects as a starter, and future negotiations will be based on that projection.
- The Mets are the frontrunners for signing Ken Takahashi.
- The Dodgers would’ve been willing to do a $2.5MM deal plus incentives for Takashi Saito, but he did not accept that.
NBP Tracker has the source links, which are in Japanese. Kudos to Patrick for keeping those of us that can’t read Japanese in the know.
Alex Walsh can be reached at alexander.walsh@gmail.com.